Blooms & Bears

It's been an wild month where the wild things grow!

The summer flowers and foliage are really starting to grow up, the grass is tall, and we had a few nights of bear visits (going after the chickens). Everyone it tucked up safe now, behind their electric fence and the farm chores continue.

If you are looking for some colorful and lush summer bouquets, add them on to your regular CSA pickup from Hoot Owl or get one of their Farm Stand boxes any week. The edible Petal Power mix of nasturtiums and pansies is also back (and available from Hoot Owl) for the summer for as long as the spicy blossoms last!

You can get your fresh Salad Mix greens at the Amish Farm to Market Store.

And...if you want wholesale blooms look no further than the new Flathead Flower Collective that 5 other growers and I have begun. We use the RootedFarmers.com platform to help sell together and grow together! It's a great way for local florists, event designers, or diy brides to get their hands on all of the best local blooms.

Quick thunderstorms bring many rainbows

The summer flowers are finally blooming! Things usually start a little later and and a little earlier in this little valley of mist and cold, but that makes summer (and all the blooms) feel that much sweeter.

The warmth not only makes the flowers bloom but also the lettuce to grow fast! Look for a whole bunch at the Amish Farm to Market Store. Hate driving that far outta Libby? Tell your favorite store you wanna see the Salad Mix there and just maybe I can add in another delivery or two

All bouquets benefit from foliage as well as flowers. These are the unsung heroes of cut flower design and they help those pretty things to shine all the more. (Can you pick out which ones of these are 'weeds'? None are 'weeds' to me, only low-maintenance, self-sowing beautiful native or naturalized foliage)

The Lupines may be long gone from bloom (the quick heat made them go really quick!) but less cut for fresh flowers means more that will be seeds! Just like flower or veg farming is a year-round planning process, so is seed production Who wouldn't wanna have a bushel of badass bushes of these in their yard?!

The Nasturtiums have come on strong and bring their bright colors and spicy bite to the Edible Petal Power Flower mix

Yep, that's where a bear tore into one of the chicken huts. All in all it wasn't too bad. There were a few losses, a little bear spray, and two nights of watching the yard, but Kim Annis from FWP came to trap the young collared Grizzly (they caught it at my neighbors who lost all their birds), let me borrow an electric fence to protect the rest (I only lost 4, the rest scattered into the thick grass and weeds!) I'll be installing my own electric fence to keep both my birds and the bears safe. Kim had to euthanize the young Grizzly as she was habituated to hunting chickens. And I'll get help paying for it from the Defenders of Wildlife program that will help you protect anything that Grizzlies might wanna eat like livestock, fruit trees, garbage by paying half of the fence cost so that no bear needs to be killed just because it's hungry.

After all the commotion and excitement of the last few weeks, the cats and I gotta a small chance to rest and explore!

What's available this week? 

• Flowers!
  • Wholesale bunches are available through RootedFarmers.com look for the Flathead Flower Collective
  • Seasonal Bouquets and the Edible Flower Power are available through Hoot Owl's CSA or Farm Stand pickup
• Veggies!
  • Salad Mix

Where to find it all?
Find the Veggies at the Amish Farm to Market Store in Libby!

Seasonal Bouquets and the Edible Flowers are available through Hoot Owl Farms CSA/Farm Stand